This invention relates to improvements in transferring materials from one conveyor to another conveyor and more particularly to transferring small articles across the gap generated between typical conveyors.
Generally conveyors are typically driven by pulleys and the extremity of each conveyor is defined as the radius of the pulley. If one conveyor is to transfer small parts to another conveyor, it typically does so by dropping the parts from one conveyor to the next. This method, however, is not always desirable since the small parts may require a smooth transition between conveyors. Furthermore, if the two conveyor pulleys were to be placed end to end, a fairly large gap between the tangential areas at the top faces of the belts would exist and thereby making it impossible to transfer small articles from one conveyor to another conveyor in approximately the same plane.
Another method of transferring small articles from one conveyor to the next is using non-movable dead plate spacers. Such non-movable dead plates may be adequate to transfer large articles between conveyor belts, however, such spacers would not adequately transfer smaller articles. Yet another method concerns using a liquid medium sealed in between the conveyor belts. This method requires that the liquid be of a higher specific gravity than the articles to be transported, therefore articles having a higher specific gravity than the liquid would not be adequately or smoothly transferred.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a moving transitional transfer conveyor for smoothly transporting small articles from one conveyor to a second conveyor without dropping the parts and/or changing the part orientation, and without allowing the parts to fall within a gap created between the two conveyors.